Some of our Accomplishments for 2014…

Our goal is to continuously have more impact and get better at measuring it. Here’s some of the many achievements for 2014! This was sent out hardcopy with our last newsletter.

2014 Accomplishments

Namlocompleted the construction of Khamdenu School in Nepal that will serve a student population of 351. The community raised $3,118 in labor, $8,698 in in-kind contributions and $905 donated for a school maintenance fund. The project generated 41 local jobs, and 7 people learned new construction skills. 43 families participated in the construction committee, and the total number of hours of labor for the project was 15,620.

School Construction – Khamdenu

Namlo completed a retaining wall to protect the Women’s Cooperative and its 50 members from potential damage from monsoon rains. $6,000 was raised to combine with Nrs. 92,110 ($969) from the community who also donated 5,980 hours of free labor to construct the wall. To more aggressively pursue economic sustainability, weavers of the cooperative are now producing dhakas for local markets, and have sold 16 in the last two months. In Denver, Namlo partnered with the Women’s Partnership Market, who bought over $400 worth of dhakas, with a similar amount being sold through Namlo’s new Etsy e-commerce website. Namlo also completed a water system in Sabhung in partnership with Engineers Without Borders to bring 20,000 litres of water per day to 125 households from a vertical elevation of almost 1,000 feet at a cost of $66,907.

In Dhuskun, Nepal, Namlo completed the construction of a community and business development center to support of the Dhuskun Women’s Cooperative. Costing a total of $32,000, local community members worked as non-skilled labor to contribute the project equivalent of $3,132, along with $2,172 in goods and $821 for a maintenance fund. Local government donated $716 for this project.

Dhuskun women’s cooperative members work to build the roof of their business center

Economic Development activities in Dhuskun comprised of ginger production with 30 women planting 350 kg of ginger earning Nrs 1,350 from the sale of 9 kg., 10 farmers planting 300 new coffee plants recently adding to 250 from last year, 30 farmers planting 670 tomato plants. 4 farmers sold 373 kg and earning Nrs. 23,320. For 2015, Namlo also secured funding to hire an education specialist to work in Namlo schools, as well as secured $22,000 to fund a livestock economic development project in Dhuskun.Following the aftermath of a landslide near Dhuskun on August 2, 2014, the Dhuskun Women’s Cooperativewas instrumental in the distribution of $6,000 of relief supplies to 500 people displaced.

Namlo established a partnership with Boulder, Colorado non-profit Developing Hands, who are donating the entire cost of constructing a school in Mankha.

Principal of Mankha, Nepal

Developing Hands has donated $28,000 for the first phase of the project, which started December 15th. The community has purchased land for the school, raised Nrs. 172,500 ($1,796) as well as having laid out and staked the design. 11 families are participating in the management committee along with 7advisors.

Namlo also reversed the potential closure of its program in Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, by launching its Greenhouse Project in Barrio Nuevo, Los Pinares and El Salmeron, with six families adopting the low-cost, household greenhouses which can dramatically boost household vegetable production, nutrition and incomes. More work needs to be done to quantify the production, but each greenhouse has already produced vegetables for their owners, and participants are eager to tap into local demand at area markets and restaurants.or expansion of the program in 2015.

The Greenhouse Project was also visited by 11 volunteers from Twin Peaks Longmont Rotary Club, Mead Rotary Club and the Mead Interact Club who helped erect a greenhouse for a local resident. Over $20,000 was raised in 2014 from a combination of crowdfunding, board members, staff, matching grants, as well as fundraisers and grants from the Rotary Clubs in Mead and the Twin Peaks Longmont Club. Local interest in greenhouses is spreading, and to date around 15 families have expressed interest in putting a downpayment to get their own. Our objective for 2015 is to disseminate to another 50 rural families.

Coordinator Rosario and international volunteer help a family erect a greenhouse in Nicaragua

Also, in Nicaragua, the construction of a water system to serve 250 families in the community of El Quebracho, funded by Rotary International and implemented by Agua Para La Vida was completed.

Finally, thanks to the generous matching grant donation of $75,000,Benito and Francis C Gaguine Foundation,Namlo International was able to raise over $111,000 in donations and grants!

If you would like to get involved in these projects, consider investing in or traveling with us to the project sites and donate your time to their success! Click below to donate.